Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three metro routes in Kolkata on Friday, including one to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport. Metro Railway’s East West Corridor between Salt Lake Sector-V and Howrah Maidan was also thrown open. This link passes under the River Hooghly while connecting the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata.
The stretch between New Garia to Beliaghata was also inaugurated during the day. This is part of the link that will eventually connect New Garia, in the extreme south of the city, to the NSCBI Airport, via New Town-Rajarhat.
“This is the 21st Century and modern cities require modern transportation solutions. People can now travel to the Kolkata airport by Metro. One of the lines also connects the Howrah and Sealdah railway stations, two of the busiest in the country. The journey by road between these two stations would earlier take more than an hour. Now that they have been connected by Metro, the journey can be completed in a few minutes,” the Prime Minister said.
He also spoke on how the Centre has taken steps for the development of the railways in West Bengal. West Bengal is among the states where total electrification of railway corridors has been achieved, Modi said.
“All efforts are being made for the development of West Bengal. The state has nine Vande Bharat trains running along various routes. It has two Amrut Bharat trains as well. A lot has been done towards development of the road transportation network as well. Once the 6-lane Kona Expressway – connecting Kolkata to National Highways leading to Delhi and Mumbai – is completed, it will take a few minutes to reach the city from the highways. This will also mean a lot for port connectivity,” Prime Minister Modi said.
While West Bengal governor C V Ananda Bose was present at the events, West Bengal chief minister had announced earlier that she would skip them. Sources in the state government have said that she took this decision in protest against the alleged ‘torture’ of Bengali-speaking people from West Bengal in BJP-ruled states.